What’s Happening in Mathematics

Welcome back to Term 2! The Mathematics Faculty is already off to a strong start, with students engaging in foundational and challenging content across all year levels. Here is a brief snapshot of what each year group is currently working on and how you can support learning at home.

Year 7

Year 7 students recently completed a mathematical investigation on fractions and decimals. Many found the word-heavy nature of the task challenging, highlighting the link between literacy and mathematical comprehension. One way families can support at home is by encouraging regular reading to strengthen literacy skills, which in turn helps with worded maths problems.

Students are now finishing decimals and moving into percentages. This is a great opportunity to link learning with real-life contexts—such as percentage discounts while shopping. As part of JPC’s focus on numeracy, students are encouraged to complete 15–20 minutes of Maths homework after each lesson, showing all working in their workbook.

Year 8

In Week 3, Year 8 students will undertake an in-class investigation on Rates and Ratios. This task is also worded, with an emphasis on interpretation and problem-solving. Please encourage your child to practise the worded problems at the end of textbook exercises and to attend Maths Tutorials in preparation.

Year 8 is also moving into solving equations—a key foundation for higher-level algebra in senior years. Students are encouraged to ask questions regularly to clarify their understanding of these concepts.

Year 9

This week, Year 9 completed an assessment task on factorising and expanding algebraic expressions—concepts many students find complex. They are now moving on to Linear Relationships, a vital topic that has applications in everyday scenarios such as budgeting, exchange rates, and fuel consumption. Later this term, they will begin exploring Pythagoras’ Theorem and Trigonometry.

Year 10

This week, Year 10 students completed an assessment task, with many taking advantage of Maths Tutorials to prepare. They are now moving on to Probability in Core classes—a topic many students enjoy—and Logarithms in the Extension classes.

Maths Tutorials

Students are encouraged to attend tutorials for extra support or clarification. These are open to all students:

• Tuesday (Seniors only): 8:00–8:45am in JF9

• Thursday (All students): 8:15–8:45am in JF9

• Thursday (All students): 3:35–4:45pm in the Library

Equipment Reminder

All students are expected to bring the following items to every lesson:

- Maths workbook
- Charged device
- Black and red pens
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Calculator (preferably Casio 82AU)

We look forward to supporting your child’s progress and confidence in Maths throughout the term.

Amanda Brown
Mathematics Coordinator